Belleville coach Jermain Crowell mad at UM again
This time it appears to be over Zordich's comments in the press regarding LaVert Hill.
I'll say this I've never seen a State coach publicly question a kids toughness from Detroit. Especially a kid who played a entire season hurt the year before.
— CoachJermain Crowell (@JermainCrowell) April 19, 2018
As a matter of fact I've not seen a coach from anywhere else in the country ever do that. Not just State but anywhere. I find that very interesting.
— CoachJermain Crowell (@JermainCrowell) April 19, 2018
Never in the public eye!!! There needs to be a trust amongst coach and player. I see no way that a player can trust a coach who publicly questions your toughness. Interesting situation. I'm just watching.
— CoachJermain Crowell (@JermainCrowell) April 19, 2018
April 19th, 2018 at 10:42 AM ^
Last Q&A is the toughness bit but including the lead-up for context. I'm not really pro calling guys out in public, but Crowell is blowing it out of proportion.
If he’s been working with the ones does that mean maybe that Vert moves into the inside? Are you guys messing around with those combinations there?
“Well, yeah, you know, Vert hasn’t practiced, so he’s losing valuable time, unfortunately for him. But it allows Brandon Watson to continue to get better, Ambry THomas to get better, David Long to get better, and as I mentioned Hunter and Myles. So, it’s great for those guys. They’re just growing by leaps and bounds.”
Why hasn’t Hill practiced?
“He’s got an issue with his hips or his groin. Trying to figure that out.”
Has that been all spring?
“I mean, he got two practices in, but that’s been it. Would like to have him out there for sure, but we’re not waiting for him, I’ll just say that. As I keep saying, Brandon Watson and Ambry have stepped up and are filling that spot very nicely.”
It’s a muscular thing?
“Not sure. That’s the thing. Watch him run, he looks fine. It’s just on long plays, he just has some pain at the end of the play. Just trying to figure that out.”
It’s not the kind of thing you can play through?
“I think it is.”
Oh.
[everyone laughs]
“But, you know, he’s got to feel right.”
But that is something you touched on last year about—I don’t want to generalize and say it was a toughness issue but is that a little bit?
“Well…if you want to go back to that, yes, in my opinion, yes it is. You’ve got an opportunity to get better or even just to find out what is wrong, because you’re not going to find out by not participating. So, it’s frustrating for us as coaches, but at the same time, those other guys, you’re getting to see them blossom, which is really good for us. We’re creating depth.”
to be relevant. ultimately though, he's the one who hurts his own players and fails to see that. if he has made his school a 'no go' zone for michigan, he deprives his very best players of a chance to play at the finest school in the state. he basically limits them to molester state univ or a MAC school.
It seems clear that he was also looking for a chance to cheer for Sparty.
As I stated earlier in this thread, the guy reeks of insecurity. He apparently didn't get enough "respect" (or maybe was "dissed") from Michigan.
Or he is just saying what Hill wants to say but can't. This guy is the old cass tech db coach. He's got the respect and still talks to all of his old kids inlcuding jourdan lewis, Hill, Damon Webb, etc. The guys who played for him at Cass seem to love him. He seems like a bad guy to be pissing off for in state recruiting purposes.
April 19th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^
Bullshit, the results speak for them selves. He is putting negativity about UM out there and steering kids away. You can kiss his ass all you want, his recruits will never come here. I live in the area and my nephews have been hearing that the coach at Belleville hates Michigan and trashes UM all the time in practice. It is a waste of time to recruit there, they should not even get to say they have a UM offer.
April 19th, 2018 at 10:23 AM ^
It was more "he's injured, we can't wait on him and due to competition, people are passing him until he gets back on the field". Sounds more like meritocracy than criticism
Why would he try to use it to paint MSU in a good light? It reads like a desperate attempt to help out a school that really needs someone to say good things about them.
I don't mind a coach calling out a pro doing this who is making a substantial amount of money. Feel a little differently about doing this multiple times to a college kid though. Crowell has a relationship with Hill obviously and is commenting from that point of view. A better person to ask about this situation would be someone like Jourdan Lewis, a guy who has played under Zordich but also has known Lavert for years. He would have a more valued opinion than Crowell on this to me.
Different players react differently. Maybe Hill isn't a guy that responds well to being pulled aside and coddled. Maybe he responds better when he is challenged. Zordich did this exact same thing last year and it turned out just fine.
College players aren't making a substantial amout of money (unless their in the $EC) but they are going to school for free and using one of the 85 scholarships allowed.
Bottom line, I think Zordich knows how to motivate his players.
Would he rather our coach's cover up a culture of sexual assualt and manipulate the conjoining evidence, and witness tampering?
Just another example that people dont really give a fuck about whats going on at MSU. At the end of the day they'll still get their bball and fball recruits. They'll talk shit about UM, rub past results in our face, critisize coaching. It's pathetic.
And what's that reason?
He did something similar to this last year. He publicly called players out because they weren't working hard in practice. Players stepped up and turned into the best CB duo in the B1G and maybe the country. He knows what he is doing.
The last thing Crowell wants is to create noise.
When did Belleville High become a football factory?
Did they add something to the water or did they just start taking transfers from all over the state?
That's what I thought...
sorry but it sounds like noise is exactly what he wants. What better way to draw attention and show his kids he has their back even after they leave the program than to attack a polarizing coach?
They've got some nice athletes but I'll bet a dollar they dont live up to the hype. They're "combine" kids. Got the speed and measurables.
Former guys coached by this guy include Jourdan Lewis, Levert Hill, and Damon Webb. He's the old Cass DB coach, pretty sure his guys have performed pretty well with pads on too.
April 19th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
Not the same pool of athletes. Of course he had studs to coach up at Cass, they can recruit kids from a young age in the area because Detroit is short on high schools. Where is the talent in the Belleville area suddenly coming from? Beleville is class A and is definatly not supposed to be recruiting.
And yet they have 2 of the 3 highest recruits in the state, and 3 of the top 14. And they have several underclassmen who will be 4 star kids. Belleville is fighting for the 2nd most talent of any program in the State with Detroit King. Not sure if they're recruiting or if school of choice is letting kids from the inner city go out to Belleville. And Crowell still has pull with Cass Tech kids as well as King kids, he's 1 of the 4 or 5 coaches in the Detroit area you want to be in good with.
Belleville has had some very good players over the years, though they did have a dry spell for a while in the 2000s.
April 19th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
Belleville gets a lot of athletes in both sports. Not a bridge you want to start burning. We are already behind there.
now you know why
you don't waste your time when the kids have been brainwashed to hate your school
That dude hates Michigan. He could have called the Michigan coach(s), met with them & discussed his concerns.... But instead, he thinks ", hmmmm, how can I use this to hurt Michigan? Ah ! I can send out a tweet for the world to see, & hopefully influence other haters". He is a not so secret SpartyThat hates Michigan.
Okay, okay, but don't you see the irony in your comment?
You're saying the bigger man should pick up a phone and handle things in priviate...which is what Crowell is saying about Zordich.
If publicly airing your grievances is okay, then it's okay for Crowell to do it, too. If it's not okay, then neither Crowell or Zordich should be doing it.
In part. But there's a difference between being asked about a specific player in a press conference and responding honestly vs. taking to twitter unsolicited and taking shots at another program while clearly attempting to promote another program.
Do you see any difference there?
April 19th, 2018 at 10:02 AM ^
I see a difference in that they are inherently not the same thing. There are lots of differences.
From a public perception standpoint? Nobody cares whether you're going on Twitter or whether a reporter asked you something specific at a press conference - you're still airing dirty laundry in a public way.
He may seem like an MSU shill, but a lot of people in this thread are Michigan shills. So which shill is less shilly? It's mostly just a bunch of shills talking back and forth. That's sports, I guess.
April 19th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
We seem like Michigan schills because we fucking are, and we can admit that. Why cant you admit that this guy is an MSU schill? He is no different than a Sparty fan using any bulshit narrative to take a shot at the school or porgram. His program should be cut off.
"He may seem like an MSU shill, but a lot of people in this thread are Michigan shills. So which shill is less shilly? It's mostly just a bunch of shills talking back and forth. That's sports, I guess."
So you think Zordich went straight to the press, rather than say anything to Hill privately, first? I don't think that happened. I think Zordich would have had those conversations many times before saying anything to the press. And all he did was answer a question honestly. If any player has a problem with that, the player needs to examine himself.
Judging from the timing of the twittering, I doubt Crowell extended any such courtesy to Zordich before letting rip. And FWIW, I'll trust Zordich every time in matters like this - concerning players he is actively coaching. He's far more successful at coaching footballers than I'll ever give Crowell credit for.
LOL. Yeah, Zordich has probably talked to Hill in private, but THAT'S HIS JOB. He works with that kid on a daily basis. He gets paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to coach about 10 kids, and that's all he does, 365 days a year. He'd better talk to Hill.
It's not Crowell's job to talk to Mike Zordich and keep him in line. For all we know, they've never met face-to-face. Belleville's head coach has no loyalty or expectation of loyalty to Michigan's cornerbacks coach.
I'm not saying Crowell is right. But if you put an amateur player on blast through the media, then you had better be prepared for some blowback. This is not totally unexpected, or even necessarily unwarranted.
April 19th, 2018 at 10:09 AM ^
"But if you put an amateur player on blast through the media..."
Here's where we differ - I don't think Zordich blasted Hill, at all. But I do think Crowell went way overboard. Zordich was responding to questions honestly, (most likely) repeating things he's already mentioned privately many times. You could argue that he went a little far when the 'toughness' question came up, but I don't feel he was wrong in ansewring how he did. When I first read the transcript, I took it like Hill would play if there were a game tomorrow, but, becuase this is Spring ball, he sits (Zordich: 'he has to feel right'). Sucks for all of us because he loses out on practice time. Good for Thomas...
Question for you, Magnus - are you friends with Crowell? Clearly, you don't have to answer, but I ask because you appear to be defending him against all arguments. Which is fine - we all have opinions. It just seems a little out of character for you in this case.
April 19th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
It's also not "Crowell's job" to go on twitter and make absurd claims that coaches never question kids' toughness.
If Crowell were genuinely interested in Hill's welfare, would he honestly, in your opinion, sit down and consider options:
A. Talk to Zordich by phone and tell him what Crowell thinks would best motivate Hill, or
B. Post a twitter rant about how coaches nationwide, but especially State coaches, would never question Hill's toughness
and then decide that B was more in Hill's interests?
I don't.
Coach Zordich has a history of getting results from his players. Who cares what some bum sparty failed coach thinks...let the man coach snowflakes.
Failed coach? He won a state championship with Cass Tech. He went 10-1 at Belleville last year (25-6 over three years), and he has a bunch of elite players who want to play for him and are getting college scholarships. He's no bum.
April 19th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
First off he didn't win anything at Cass Tech.
Wilcher is the one who established that program and gets the credit.
Last year He went 10-1 and beat a bunch of terrible teams with 10-15 D1 prospects of his own.
Belleville lost to the only decent team they played, Canton.
The year before Saline lit them up by 31 in the state playoffs.
But if you want to give him credit for pulling kids from other school districts like Cass does and like Greg Carter used to do at Inkster than go for it.
Let me know when he wins something with all that talent.
So...that's the definition of a failed coach? He's a failed coach because he went 10-1 and lost to Canton? He's a failed coach because he was the defensive coordinator on a state championship team?
Maybe this guy is trying to audition for a spot on Mork's coaching staff for the future.